Columbus's first mate quickly brought not only potatoes and corn, but also sweet potatoes, tobacco, pumpkins and tomatoes, as well as himself.

Giulio wasn't sure at first how far these crops had evolved in captivity at this time, but it was reassuring to know that potatoes and sweet potatoes were almost no different from the plants hundreds of years later, the pumpkins were a little smaller, with coarse skins and large seeds, and corn, the crop he was most looking forward to, the long strips of fruit that grew on small trees, as Columbus said, were rough and more unpalatable than oats, so no one wanted to grow them.

The people of the Italian peninsula usually cultivated only four crops as staple foods, spy, barley, rye and oats, among them, wheat was the most popular because it could be ground into snow-white flour, rye could also be milled, but the color was black, so it was not favored by the upper classes, barley was generally only used to cook porridge, and oats were almost always used to feed horses, and only the poorest farmers and slaves would use them as food.

But at this time in Italy, the "Saxon wheel plow" has begun to use, this wheel plough is equipped with wheel-like accessories to control the depth of the plough, the plow is made of black iron, vertical downward, can be inserted into the deep ground, the clods of soil up, this iron plough can not only plow deep trenches, to ensure that the seeds can be buried deeply, not by birds or rodents to cut down, but also loosen the soil, so that rainwater or irrigation water seeps into the ground, and gathers in the roots of the crop, easy for the plant to absorb.

But such a heavy plough requires several large animals such as oxen or horses to start and drag side by side, that is, it can only be used on flat and wide land, such as the hilly areas of Tuscany, where crops are cultivated and the hands of farmers are relied on, and if Giulio still insists on growing staple crops such as wheat or rye, which are familiar to the people in the area around Florence and the new city of Cadiz, this method of work is undoubtedly extremely backward and inferior. In addition, the mixed soils of sandy and clay, which are characteristic of the Tuscan region, are more suitable for growing grapes than wheat.

Although the people of Cadiz are also growing wheat under Giulio's tough attitude, it can only be said that it is slightly better than no grain harvest, and to put it simply, to this day, two-thirds of Gatiz's staple food supply still needs to be purchased from southern Italian cities such as Puglia and Aprien.

But corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes are different, they are all benign crops that can be grown in hilly areas, potatoes and sweet potatoes especially prefer sandy soil, as for corn, perhaps in such soil, the growth will not be as good as the native land, but it only has a maturity period of 70 days to 100 days, compared to wheat needs 220 to 270 days of maturity I don't know how good it is, and corn can be used to refine syrup and make wine in addition to direct consumption.

Sweet potatoes and potatoes ripen in about 80 to 110 days, respectively, and compared to wheat, especially now, the yield per acre is only about 200 to 300 pounds, and potatoes, even if they have not been optimized, can produce at least 2,000 pounds or more, and this crop can be used as a dish or as a staple food - Giulio now owns about 2,000 acres, and if potatoes can be successfully planted, the least of them will be a problem for Cadiz's food consumption, or maybe it will feed back to Florence.

However, as the Archbishop of Florence, he also had the right to order the peasants belonging to the churches and monasteries to grow the crops he had assigned, as well as Lepi and Spolete, Lucca, Siena, and other places where he might influence.

This move caused many people to be confused, and Giuliano. The Medici were no longer so afraid of his cousin, so he went to Giulio as a representative for an answer, who even plucked some very good grapes, which was not necessary in commercial Italy, where there was no need for merchants to buy wine and transport wheat from southern cities to the north to sell.

"War." Giulio replied succinctly.

Giuliano's expression immediately changed, after so many things, he was no longer the little boy who only dared to hide under his sister's skirt, and Giulio was never the kind of person who would talk about it, he said that if there is a war, there will be a war: "Is it Bologna?" ”

"More than that." Giulio opened the map and motioned for Giuliano to come and see: "Bologna is just the beginning, Julius II wants the whole of Romagna and the Papal territories that have been taken by the Republic of Venice, and for this reason, he has negotiated a deal with the French, the Spaniards, and the ambassadors of the Holy Roman Empire, and when their troops are recruited, another war that may affect the whole of Italy will begin again." ”

"How many troops will they have?"

"King Louis XII of France alone is preparing to recruit an army of 50,000 men this time." "The Holy Roman Empire and Spain would not be much lower than that number," Giulio said. ”

"O God...... Giuliano, who could barely breathe, and Charles VIII in 1494 almost succeeded in conquering nearly a third of the peninsula with only 28,000 men. ”

"He borrowed a full 1,200,000 louis from his queen, Anne, Duchess of Brittany." Giulio said that when he got the figure, he immediately calculated the number of soldiers he could recruit with this huge amount of money, and the results were chilling. That's why he was so desperate to popularize corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes as soon as possible. Once the war began, an army of 50,000 men or more would be able to eat up the output of the whole of southern Italy, and then they would still be able to live on wine and grapes?

There were also plagues, famines, and displaced people that accompanied the wars......

"I just wish they could move more slowly." Giulio said that he would have time to prepare — one more day, and he might be able to save a hundred more people.

"I can ......," Giuliano said hesitantly.

"What?"

"Can I tell Bianca about this?" Giuliano asked a little nervously, in the previous incident, he was framed as the murderer of the first standard-bearer Carboni, after Bianca knew, he immediately led an army of 1,200 people to aid Florence day and night, but the speed of the march could not be compared with Giulio who rode lightly, and when she arrived in Florence, Sodrini's conspiracy had been destroyed, the real murderer had been punished, and the Medici family had returned to the decision-making level of Florence - she and Giuliano had a hurried reunion for one night, She decided to return to Forlì, her mother Caterina was not as strong as she used to be, and it was Bianca, the eldest daughter, who now ruled over Imola and Forlì.

Bianca has changed a lot, her face already has the rudiments of a "she-wolf", calm and fearless. Giuliano also seems to realize something, and instead of holding back, he plucks up the courage to become Giulio. The Medici was one of the sharpest and toughest nails in the Council of the Seventy.

"I need you to do that," said Giulio, "and, if Madame Caterina wishes, she may take potatoes, sweet potatoes, or corn from me, which may be planted in the spring, summer, and autumn, and without being too harsh on the land." If he could, he wanted as many people to take the seeds as possible, but Giulio also knew that short-sighted rulers were never in the minority in Italy, and that as an enemy of Julius II, the Pope's attitude towards him would obviously affect the dignitaries as well.

And the people, for them, are not so important.

——————————

A few days later, Luca's Guinici and Castelluccio families also heard the sad news.

They quickly convened a meeting, and for the first time Alfred did not continue to confront Danilo, and after they had repeatedly confirmed the correctness of this information, Luca began to buy wheat and rye not only from Florence and New City of Cadiz, but also from Giulio. The Medici bought the seedlings of potatoes and sweet potatoes - although they thought that the potatoes did look like the "roots" of the devil or the fruits of hell, but after tasting the french fries, the chicken soup mashed potatoes and hash browns, and hearing about its production, they immediately became fond of this food, but unfortunately, Giulio did not have many potatoes in his hands, and they had to keep the seeds, and they only tasted a small bite of those delicious foods.

But what they didn't expect was that their tenant farmers had planted the precious seedlings, and the archbishop of Lucca immediately led a group of black-clad priests to pull them all out, and set up a fire to burn them all—fortunately, Castrucio's young son, Jesmo, and his fox friends were wandering not far away, and when they saw this, they rushed over, pretending to be a bunch of mischievous children, and lifted the priests up and threw them into the ditch on the side. The tenant farmer next to him took the opportunity to run over and collect the seedlings in his cloak and steal them, so as to avoid an undeserved disaster.

"What a hopeless idiot!" Alfred shouted angrily. Of course, it wasn't his young son, on the contrary, he had to thank the naughty little guy this time.

"We'll have to keep the archbishop busy." Danilo said, "Tomorrow I will go and dedicate a few Masses. ”

"It is useless," said Alfred's eldest son, gloomily, "that he lives like an ascetic, and that the heavy work is not a torment but a reward for him, and perhaps he will think that his piety has shaken our filthy souls—we shall ...... by other means."

"Prostitution, or money?" Danilo said, "No, they were all rejected, and my people were even severely reprimanded." ”

"He's a young man," said Alfred's eldest son, "I'm a young man too, and I know what he's thinking—no, I don't think he's as indestructible as people think, after all, ......" he smiled contemptuously: "He didn't have a prominent surname, much less a family that supported him, and he was only an unknown priest until he was chosen by Julius II, and his father was only a master of a rinsing workshop—he just hadn't enjoyed it yet, and didn't know what it was like, And your gift," he said, looking at Quinki's parent, Danilo, "and it's too blatant, at least on the surface, that they have to be celibate."

I have inquired in Rome, and they have little talent to speak of, except to obey the Lord—their ordination and annuity were paid by Julius II for the second generation, and in that case it is almost impossible for them to betray their former master overnight, out of gratitude or fear—and will you not hesitate to drink the wine of your enemies? ”

"So, is there anything you can do?" A child of the Guinians asked, unconvinced.

"I can only say that I will give it a try." Alfred's eldest son coughed and said, "As I said before, this archbishop from humble background is not as chaste from the heart as you think, and he has the same strong desires as we do, but he knows that we are his enemies, and we must rely on the grace of Julius II to maintain our current status and even go further, so he will not hesitate to refuse your bribe."

So I asked one of the girls on the side of Castrolicio, one of the most beautiful girls in Lucca, you know, to make a gentle gesture when he went to church to see Mass, and he was immediately shaken, and I was right next to him, and I saw it very clearly. ”

"Are you saying we're going to give away our sisters?" Jesmo pursed his lips and said unhappily.

"No, no, no," said Alfred's eldest son calmly, "he will be alert at once, we still need a prostitute, but smart, cold, young, healthy, the kind that the Lucca have not seen." ”

"And after that? He'll still refuse. ”

Alfred's eldest son laughed: "Let her pretend to be a well-born and noble girl, and make a vow to be a convent grandmother." Then let her confess to our archbishop, who is said to have thought that she could become a second St. Francis, and that is why it is understandable that there is a St. Caleb who is willing to follow them. ”

The crowd was silent for a long time before the Queeni's son muttered softly, "Isn't that ...... Is it? ”

"What have we done?" Alfred's eldest son said indifferently: "Mary Magdalene was originally a prostitute, but she was willing to repent, washed Jesus' feet with tears, wiped his feet with soft black hair, and when Jesus was crucified, she fed him water and drank, and when Jesus entered the mausoleum, she took balsam and wiped him, so that she could be the first to learn of Jesus' resurrection - can't a prostitute make a vow, and not be the abbot of a monastery?" If our archbishop is going to be tempted and depraved, it is also his ungodly relationship, and what does it have to do with us? ”

"What if he really did what St. Francis did?"

"Do you think he will?" Alfred's eldest son said: "We are all men who have seen real miracles, true saints, and if he were our archbishop, would he be so brutal to us?" Will they hate us like this for no reason? Will he throw what he thinks is sin into the fire without any justification? He turned to the boy in Guinici: "Do you remember when we were in Julio. Shortly after the Medici entered Lucca, there was a clash next to his cathedral. ”

Guinicki's son nodded, of course he remembered, that they had suffered not only physical suffering, but also spiritual sin.

"If he hadn't stopped us that night, but had taken the opportunity to kill one of us, do you know what would have happened?"

"Guenici will fight Castelluccio to the death." Danilo whispered.

"That way, whatever he's going to do, it's going to be easy." Alfred said, "We must prostrate ourselves at his feet and ask for his protection and favor." ”

"But he didn't do that." Alfred's eldest son said: "Not only did he manage to mediate, but he also managed to intercede and give sincere advice." And our current lord, who does not even know that these are precious things that can keep countless people alive, just because he heard that we took them from the Archbishop of Florence, he wants to destroy them for no reason. ”

He looked at everyone in the room: "I don't believe that such a man can be as faithful in his heart as his words, but I am here today to say that if he can do it, I will serve him as a saint." ”

"I don't think you'll have that chance." His father said, "But I can swear too." ”

"I swear." Danilo. Quinki said.

So the other people in the room swore an oath.

Farce like this is being played out in other places. Every cardinal and family who had been robbed of their dioceses, churches and monasteries by Julius II took action, and of course the black-claded clergy who were so loyal to Julius II were able to remain vigilant for a short time, but the best of those despicable people were at the deception of their subordinates, and the clergy, before entering the Ministry of Jurisprudence, were not taken seriously or disliked by them, and there were many means by which they could say that they had never heard of them, let alone know and crack them.

——————————

Julio also heard about Luca – Joshua. Lovere, Julius II may not have realized that human nature is irreversible - it is destined that human beings will always seek pleasure and stay away from pain, and only a few people with great ideals and strong self-control can get pleasure in hardship, but most people, when the environment is constrained and disciplined, may be able to keep the hardship, but if they are free from the original shackles and supervision, and need to rely entirely on their own will to cultivate chastity, the people who can do it can only be said to be rare.

In particular, although they swore to purify the Church, they knew nothing about the insiders, dealings, and intrigues of the Holy Court, like blindfolded asses, driven by men, desperately moving forward, not knowing that they were just spinning in circles.

Perhaps, it was not only Cardinal Grand Lovere who treated these reckless young men as disposable utensils, but even Joshua. Lovere, too, unknowingly, used them as weapons and tools, rather than those who could walk side by side with him...... Person.

But this fact, Giulio has come to terms with it very calmly, even him, with Joshua. Didn't the man with whom Lovére had been a classmate for twenty years at the Palazzo Picromini never been treated as a friend by Joshua?

Thinking of this, Giulio couldn't help but shake his head gently, maybe he was too greedy, he already had a lot, a lot, a lot, from blood relatives, friends and teachers, so he shouldn't ask for more.

He wrote a reply on the last secret letter, folded it as it was, and put it in a drawer, today Cosimo Jr. did his job well, and when he had processed all the information, the sky was still bright golden yellow and orange-red, but unfortunately he couldn't rest for the time being - Duarte, who had gone to Istanbul, had returned, and the information he brought back was extremely crucial, because it directly affected the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar, Rhodes, Greece, and Jem. Sudan and a series of other major issues.

Duarte waited in the small hall outside the door, but when Giulio went out, he found that he was asleep, with his head tilted over his shoulders, his hands folded in his lower abdomen, his mouth slightly open, and he slept like an innocent baby.